Lions LB Paul Worrilow Making A Difference On And Off The Field – FanRag Sports (blog)

We know that Detroit Lions linebacker Paul Worrilow can play the game of football pretty well, but what you may not know is the kind of work he does off the field, according to Jeff Seidel of The Detroit Free Press.

During his sophomore year of college at the University of Delaware, Worrilow joined the Be The Match Foundation Registry to become a bone marrow donor.

Four months after doing so, he was matched with a 23-year-old woman who was dealing with leukemia.

While Worrilow does not know what happened to the woman and does not even know her name, he donated peripheral blood stem cells to her and said that the process is very quick and easy.

Its so simple. They do a cheek swab. You get put in the database, said Worrilow. If you match somebody, there are two ways to do it. You can donate actual bone marrow or do it like I did, peripheral blood stem cells.

Roughly one in 40 members will be called for additional testing, and only about one in 300 will be considered the best possible donor for a patient.

As far as actually donating peripheral blood stem cells or bone marrow, approximately one in 430 will do so.

Its not painful. Its a small part of your time, to have a great impact, a tremendous impact on another person and their family, said Worrilow. Its a no-brainer. You can have a great impact at such a small cost to yourself.

The Lions signed Worrilow, who played the first four years of his NFL career for the Atlanta Falcons, to a one-year deal this past March.

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Lions LB Paul Worrilow Making A Difference On And Off The Field - FanRag Sports (blog)